Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Work Experience of the Population (Annual) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, December 8, 2010 USDL-10-1688
Technical information:(202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
WORK EXPERIENCE OF THE POPULATION -- 2009
A total of 153.9 million persons worked at some point during 2009, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of workers who worked
full time, year round in 2009 was 64.0 percent, down from 65.6 percent in 2008.
The number of persons who experienced some unemployment during 2009 increased
by 4.9 million to 26.1 million. The sharp increase reflects the continuing weak
labor market conditions experienced throughout 2009.
These data are based on information collected in the Annual Social and Economic
Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly
survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics. The ASEC collects information on employment and unemployment experienced
during the prior calendar year. Additional information about the CPS and the ASEC,
including concepts and definitions, is provided in the Technical Note. Highlights
from the 2009 data include:
--The proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over
who worked at some time during 2009 was 64.9 percent, down from 67.0 percent
in 2008. (See table 1.)
--The "work-experience unemployment rate"--defined as the number of persons
unemployed at some time during the year as a proportion of the number of
persons who worked or looked for work during the year--was 16.4 percent
in 2009, up from 13.2 percent in 2008. (See table 3.)
--The number of individuals who looked for a job but did not work at all
during 2009 increased by 2.7 million over the year to 5.8 million. (See
table 3.)
Persons with Employment
The percent of men who worked during 2009 was 70.6 percent, down from 73.1 per-
cent in 2008. The proportion of women who worked at some point during 2009 was
59.6 percent, down from 61.3 percent in the prior year. (See table 1.)
The proportions of whites (65.8 percent), blacks (58.8 percent), Asians (65.2
percent), and Hispanics (65.0 percent) who worked at some time during the year
fell in 2009. (See table 2.)
Among those with work experience during 2009, 75.3 percent were employed year round
(working 50 to 52 weeks, either full or part time), down from 76.1 percent in 2008.
The percentage of women working year round rose by 0.8 percentage point to 75.1 per-
cent in 2009, and the percentage of men employed year round fell by 2.2 percentage
points to 75.5 percent. (See table 1.)
Of those employed at some time during 2009, 78.3 percent usually worked full time,
down from 79.5 percent in 2008. Men were more likely to work full time during the
year (84.4 percent) than were women (71.5 percent). In 2009, the proportions of em-
ployed men and women working full time declined by 1.6 and 0.7 percentage points,
respectively.
Persons with Unemployment
About 159.8 million persons worked or looked for work at some time in 2009. Of those,
26.1 million experienced some unemployment during the year, up from 21.2 million in
2008. Men accounted for the majority of the over-the-year increase in unemployment.
(See table 3.)
At 16.4 percent in 2009, the "work-experience unemployment rate" (those looking for
work during the year as a percent of those who worked or looked for work during the
year) was 3.2 percentage points higher than in 2008. The 2009 rate was the highest
since 1985. The rates for whites (15.5 percent), blacks (22.4 percent), Hispanics
(20.9 percent), and Asians (12.6 percent) rose in 2009. (See tables 3 and 4.)
Overall, men continued to have higher "work-experience unemployment rates" in 2009
than women, 18.8 versus 13.6 percent. Among whites, the rate for men (18.1 percent)
was higher than that for women (12.6 percent). This also was the case for men and
women among blacks (26.1 and 19.1 percent, respectively) and Hispanics (23.7 and
16.9 percent, respectively.) The rates for Asian men (12.4 percent) and Asian women
(12.8 percent) were little different.
Among those who experienced unemployment in 2009, the median number of weeks spent
looking for work was 19.7, up from 15.2 in 2008. The number of individuals who looked
for a job but did not work at all increased by 2.7 million to about 5.8 million indi-
viduals in 2009. Of the 20.3 million persons who worked during 2009 and also experi-
enced unemployment, 20.5 percent had 2 or more spells of joblessness, down from 22.1
percent in 2008.

Technical Note
The data presented in this release were collected in the Annual Social and
Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly
sample survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Data from the CPS are used to obtain the monthly estimates of the
nation's employment and unemployment levels. The supplement, conducted in the
months of February through April, includes questions about work activity during
the prior calendar year. For instance, data collected in 2010 refer to the 2009
calendar year. Because the reference period is a full year, the number of persons
with some employment or unemployment greatly exceeds the average levels for any
given month, which are based on a 1-week reference period, and the corresponding
annual average of the monthly estimates. As shown below, for example, the number
experiencing any unemployment during 2009 was over twice the number unemployed in
an average month during the year.
Employed Unemployed
2009 estimates (in thousands)
Annual average of
monthly estimates 139,877 14,265
Annual supplement data 153,929 26,135
In addition, estimates from the supplement differ from those obtained in the
basic CPS because the questions used to classify workers as either employed or un-
employed are different. More important, perhaps, is that fewer questions by which
to categorize respondents are asked in the supplement. In regard to unemployment
in particular, the supplement has no questions on the type of job search activity or
on the respondent's availability to work. Also, individuals can be counted as both
employed and unemployed in the work experience data, whereas, for a specific refer-
ence week, each person is only counted in one category and employment activity takes
precedence over job search activity.
Work experience data for 2009, which were collected in the 2010 Annual Social and
Economic Supplement to the CPS, are not strictly comparable with data for 2008 and
earlier years because of the introduction in January 2010 of revised population con-
trols used in the CPS. The effect of the revised population controls on the work ex-
perience estimates is unknown. However, the effect of the new January 2010 controls
on the monthly CPS estimates was to decrease the December 2009 employment level by
243,000 and the unemployment level by 5,000. Additional information is available on
the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error.
When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance
that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they repre-
sent. he exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular
sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the esti-
mate. There is about 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate
based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true"
population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at
the 90-percent level of confidence.
The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur
for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, in-
ability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwil-
lingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the col-
lection or processing of the data.
For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on
estimating standard errors, see "Reliability of estimates from the CPS," available on
the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.
Concepts and definitions
Persons who worked. In the 2010 supplement, persons are considered to have worked
if they responded "yes" to either the question "Did you work at a job or business at
any time during 2009?" or "Did you do any temporary, part-time, or seasonal work even
for a few days during 2009?"
Unemployed persons. Persons who worked during the year but not in every week are
counted as unemployed if they also reported looking for work or being on layoff from
a job during the year. Those who reported no work activity during the year are con-
sidered unemployed if they responded "yes" to the question "Even though you did not
work in 2009, did you spend any time trying to find a job or on layoff?"
Labor force participants. Persons who either worked or were unemployed during the
year.
Usual full- and part-time employment. These data refer to the number of hours a
worker typically works during most weeks of the year. Workers are classified as full
time if they usually worked 35 hours or more in a week; part-time employment refers
to workers whose typical workweek was between 1 and 34 hours.
Year-round and part-year employment. Workers are classified as year round if they
worked 50 to 52 weeks. Part-year employment refers to workers who worked fewer than
50 weeks.